Pulaski leeds



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I P. LEEDS. DRAW BAR FOR LOCOMOTIVES- No. 522,299. Patented July 3,1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FEIQ ANGUS SINCLAIR, or NEw'YoRK, N. Y.

' DR AW BAR' FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

SPECIFICATION forniing part of Letters Patent No. 522,299, dated July3,1894.

Application filed March 19, 1894.

T0 on whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, PULASKI LEEDS, of Louisville, in the county ofJefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Draw-Bars for Locomotives, of which improvement thefollowing is a'specification.

My invention relates to draw or push bars used for coupling cars tolocomotives or tenders at points above the pilots thereof, and itsobject is to provide a folding orreversible draw bar, which may beeitherturned down into operative position for connection with the drawhead. of a car, or turned up into a position where, when unused, it willnot impair the efficiency of the pilot in deflecting obstructions toeither side of the track, and which shall be automatically locked firmlyin either position, withthe capability of being readily released andreversed bya trainman whenever desired. p To this end, my invention,generally stated, consists in the combination, with a locomotive pilot,of a draw bar bearing or support, a reversible draw bar pivoted thereto,an automatic lock which holds the draw bar either in an operative or aninoperative position, respectively, in the draw bar bearing, and anunlocking device for releasing and permit ting the reversal of the drawbar.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

A draw or push bar pivoted at one end to a. casting on the pilot or thebumper beam of a locomotive, and having a coupling head at its outer orfree end, was formerly employed to a considerable extent in railroadservice, the draw bar being held by the trainman in a substantiallyhorizontal position, to meet the draw head of acar, when making acoupling, and being allowed torest, in an inclined position, on orbetweenthe middle bars of 'the pilot, when not in use. This constructionwas found, in practice, to be a source of serious danger to trainmenhandling it, on account of the liability of missing the coupling, and ofthe car running up on them, and, further, tended to crowd cars off thetrack when pushing on a curve. For these reasons, it has been, as ageneral rule, abandoned, and, as a substitute, a rigid bull nose, ex-

Seriallio. 504,203. ca model.)

tending sufficiently far over the pilot to conple directly to acar, hasbeen used, such fixed b'ull nose or draw head being of the same generalform as a freight car draw head and coupling therewith by a linkand pin.While this construction answered the requirements of coupling withsafety, itintroduced another element of danger, as when striking livestock or other obstructions on the track, the effectiveness of the pilotfor turning them to either side was destroyed, for the reason that theywould swing or balance across the face of the bull nose and roll downand under the pilot. 7 .My improvement wholly avoids each of theobjections above noted, as it provides a draw bar which, when turnedinto proper position for coupling, (either by hand or by automaticdevices,) is automatically locked and rigidly held in such position, sothat trainmen may couple, an engine or tender directly to a car, with acommon link and pin, with even greater safety than when coupling twocars together, and, when the draw bar is not in use, it is turned intoand locked in,a position in which it projects from the pilot to-a slightextent only, and at such a location thereon that its projection has noeffect in impairing the efficiency of the pilot for its designedfunctionof turning or deflecting obstructions to either side of thetrack.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinalcentral section through a locomotive engine pilot with an embodiment ofmy invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 a plan or top view of the same; andFig.3, aside view, in elevation, of the unlocking device and part of thedraw bar bearing.

'In the practice of my invention, I provide an inclined draw bar bearingor support 1,

which may be either of cast or' of wrought metal, or be a compositestructure containing both forgingsand castings, and which is builtintothe framing of a locomotive pilot, in the position ordinarilyoccupied by the middle inclined bar or bars thereof. The lower andforward end of the draw bar bearing'is secured to the lower horizontaltimbers, 2, of

the pilot, and its upper and rear end abuts against the top timber, 3,thereof. 1 A horizontal flange, 4, projects rearward'ly from the drawbar bearing, through which flange it is bolted to the top timber, 3, ofthe pilot, and to the bumper beam, 5, of the engine frame. The draw barbearing 1, which is thus made a rigid member of the pilot frame, has thegeneral form of a box or casin g.

A draw bar, 6, having on one of its ends a suitably formed couplinghead, 7, adapted to receive a coupling link and pin, or which may, ifpreferred, be fitted with any of the various forms of automaticcouplers, is pivoted by a pin, 8, to the draw bar bearing 1, near itstop, the axis of the pin 8 being located, as nearly as may be, in ahorizontal plane passing through the top timber 3 of the pilot and thebumper beam 5. The draw bar 6, extends on the opposite side of itspivot, into the space between the side members of the draw bar bearing1, and, when in operative position, which is a substantiallyhorizontalone, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, its rear end abuts against atransverse buffer bearing face, 9, at the rear end of the draw barbearin g, which in turn, abuts against the top timher, 3, of the pilot.A shoulder or projection, 10, on the top of the draw bar, at its innerend, abuts against a transverse draft bearing face, 11, on the draw barbearing, opposite the buffer bearing face 9.

When in operative position, the lower side of the draw bar, infront ofits pivot, seats and rests upon the central portion of the draw barbearing, and its upper side, near its rear end, abuts against the insideof the draw bar bearing, in front of the draft bearing face. When not inuse, the draw bar is swung upon its pivot into the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 1, in which its coupling head seats and rests uponthe outer central portion of the draw bar bearing near the top of thepilot, its projection therefrom being, as will be seen, comparativelyslight in degree, and so near the top of the pilot as not in anyway tointerfere with the performance of its function of deflectingobstructions to either side of the track.

The draw bar is automatically locked and held in either of the abovepositions in which it may be placed, by an automatic lock, the preferredconstruction of which, as shown in the drawings, consists in two arms orpawls 12, 13, which are pivoted to the draw bar bearing 1, in suchpositions that the arm 12 bears against the lower side of the draw barat its end farthest from the coupling head, when the draw bar is inoperative position, and, when the draw bar is in inoperative position,the arm 13 bears against the opposite side of the draw bar at the sameend, which, in the reversal of the draw bar, becomes its forward end.The arms, 12, 13, are normally brought into and held in their lockingposition by means of weights, which are preferably, as shown, levers,14, 15, fixed upon the pivots, 16, 17, of the arms. Inasmuch as anystrain then brought upon the draw bar, tending to move it upon its pivot8, out of either position in which it may be placed, will act to wedgeit against the pivot of the arms, 12 or 13 as the case may be, by whichit is locked, it cannot be either accidentally or intentionallydisplaced, and will be held firmly in position until the arm is releasedby a suitable manually operated unlocking device. In this instance, thelever 14, of the upper locking arm 12, is prolonged to form an unlockinghandle 18, which projects outwardly between the draw bar bearing 1, andthe adjacent inclined bar of the pilot on one side, for a sufficientdistance to be grasped bya trainman, and the levers 14, 15 are connectedone to the other by a link 19. The traverse of the levers 14, 15 tounlocking position is suitably limited by a fixed stop or stops, whichmay be a pin 20, against which the lever 14 bears when the arms 12, 13have been moved far enough to allow the draw bar to be released andreversed.

It will be seen that the operation of the lock is entirely automatic, asthe arms are moved by gravity into locking positions, in which eitherone or the other is operative, to lock and hold the draw bar, accordingto the position in which it may be placed, as soon as the unlockinglever is released, and also that the draw bar may be readily unlocked,and turned, whenever desired, from one position to another, without, inunlocking it, removing any part which would require to be replaced bythe operator in order to again lock it. The levers connected to thelocking arms automatically return them by gravity to looking position,while allowing the draw bar to automatically open them after it has beenunlocked, in its traverse from one position to the other. The structuralform of the draw bar bearing and its connection to the pilot timbers andbumper beam, are such as to impart increased strength and solidity tothe pilot, and the draw bar is of such form, and is so pivoted to itsbearing or support, that the shocks and strains of buffing and pushingare transferred directly to the bearing face at the rear end of the drawbar bearing, and through the metal thereof to the bumper beam and frameof the engine. Correspondingly, draft strains are transmitted to abearing at the strongest portion of the draw bar bearing, at a pointnear to and about in line with the bumper beam.

The specific form of lock employed is not of the essence of myinvention, as the same may, in practice, be modified in structuraldetails without variation in operative principle or result, or in itsco-operative relation to other members of the appliance with which it iscombined. shoot bolts, operated by bell cranks, might be substituted forthe arms or pawls shown, and would operate similarly thereto. I do nottherefore desire to limit myself to the employment of the specific lockherein described and shown.

I claim as my invention and desire to se cure by Letters Patent-*- Thus,for example, slides or.

1. The combination, with a locomotive pilot, of a draw bar bearing orsupport, a reversible draw bar pivoted thereto, an automatic lock whichholds the draw bar in either of its two opposite positions in the drawbar bearing, and an unlocking device for releasing and permitting thereversal of the draw bar, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with alocomotive pilot, of a draw bar bearing orsupport, a reversible draw bar pivoted thereto and having upon its outerend a coupling head, which, at one of the limits of the traverse of thedraw bar, pro

jects forwardly from the pilot to suitably receive a car coupling, and,at the other, projects rearwardly from the pilot adjacent to its top, anautomatic-lock adapted to engage and hold the inner end of the draw barin either of said positions, and an unlocking device for releasing andpermitting the reversal of the draw bar, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with alocomotive pilot, of a draw bar bearing orsupport having a bufier bearing face adjacent to its rear end, areversible draw bar having a coupling head on its outer end and havingits inner end adapted to abut against the buffer bearing face, a pin orpivot connecting the draw bar to the draw bar bearing, an automatic lockfor-holding the draw barin position in which its outer end may becoupled to a car and its inner end abuts against the bulfer bearingface, and. an unlocking device for releasing and permitting the reversalof the draw bar, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a locomotive pilot, of a draw bar bearing orsupport having a draft bearing face adjacent to its rear end, a

reversible draw bar having a coupling head on its outer endand ashoulder or projection at its inner end, a pin or pivot connecting thedraw bar to the draw bar bearing, an automatic lock for holding the drawbar in position in which its outer end may be coupled to a car and theshoulder or projection of its inner end abuts against the draft bearingface, and an unlocking device for releasing and permitting the reversalof the draw bar, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a locomotive pilot, of a draw bar bearing orsupport,a reversible draw bar pivoted thereto and having acoupling headon its outer end, arms pivoted to the draw bar bearing on opposite sidesof the draw bar pivot and having end faces adapted to abut against theupper or the lower side, respectively, of the draw bar at the limits ofthe traverse thereof, levers fixed to, and ex tending in oppositedirections from, the pivots of the arms, and a link connecting saidlevers, substantially as set forth.

6. The c0mbination,with alocomotive pilot, of a draw bar hearing orsupport consisting of a metallic casing or frame secured at its frontend to the lower timbers of the pilot at the center thereof, and at itsrear end, abutting against and secured to the top timber, and areversible draw bar pivoted to said draw bar support in or near ahorizontal plane passing through the top timber, substantially as setforth.

PULASKI LEEDS.

Witnesses:

E. S. HEDGCOCK, J AOK L. IRWIN.

